A game of shuttlecock, sometimes
played with a wooden battledoor, is common among the tribes on
the Northwest coast. The Zuni play with shuttlecocks made of
corn husks, stuck with feathers, batted with the hand, and a similar
object was found in a pre-European cliff-dwelling in the Canyon
de Chelly. The game is called kwaitusiwikut among the Piman Natives
of Arizona, where the children sometimes amuse themselves by tossing
into the air corncobs in which from one to three feathers have
been stuck. The Salish Natives of British Colombia and Washington
use a battledoor made either with several unpainted slats lashed
to a handle or made of a wooden plaque with a handle. The shuttlecock
consists of a small piece of twig or a branch, stuck with three
feathers. This game was a favorite pastime of the girls and boys.
In the Kwakiutl game of 'quemal', two or more usually play; if
there are many players, they stand in a ring. They throw always
to the right and in front of the body, and the one who lasts the
longest without missing wins.

The Zuni Native of New Mexico
use shuttlecocks of thick bundles of corn husk, tied around at
the top having two to four feathers inserted. A Zuni game called
'Po-ke-an' used green corn husks neatly interlaced and wrapped
into a flat square about an inch to two inches square, and on
one side are placed two feathers, upright; then, using this shuttlecock
and their hand for a battledoor, they try to see how many times
they can knock it into the air and they count aloud in their own
language - To-pa, quil-e, hi, a-we-ta, ap-ti, etc. Another Zuni
game called 'Po-ki-nanane' is so named because the sound produced
by the shuttlecock coming into contact with the palm of the hand
is similar tot he noise of the tread of the jack rabbit upon the
frozen snow.

The game is played as frequently
by the younger boys as by their elders, and always for stakes.
One bets that he can toss the shuttlecock a given number of times.
While ten is the number specially associated with the game, the
wagers are often made for twenty, fifty, and sometimes a hundred
throws. In the case of a failure the other player tries his skill,
each party alternating in the game until one or the other tosses
the shuttlecock (only one hand being used for a battledoor) the
given number of times, which entitles him to the game.